{"id":51894,"date":"2024-11-13T14:34:37","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T14:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/how-noordman-s-love-for-rwanda-inspired-commitment-to-children-s-education\/"},"modified":"2024-11-13T14:36:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T14:36:57","slug":"how-noordman-s-love-for-rwanda-inspired-commitment-to-children-s-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/how-noordman-s-love-for-rwanda-inspired-commitment-to-children-s-education\/","title":{"rendered":"How Noordman\u2019s love for Rwanda inspired commitment to children\u2019s education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living in Musanze, Noordman felt inspired in 2020 to make a lasting impact on the community. That year, he founded Susa Gardens, an eco-friendly hotel in the Muhoza sector of Northern Rwanda. The hotel, unique for growing its own food, marked the start of Noordman\u2019s vision for creating positive change.<\/p>\n

But Susa Gardens was only the beginning. Noordman soon launched a non-governmental organization to support vulnerable children, particularly those who had dropped out of school. <\/p>\n

Musanze, as a 2020\/2021 Senate report highlighted, ranked among the top six districts in Rwanda with high dropout rates. Seeing children out of school and on the streets moved Noordman deeply.<\/p>\n

When he opened Susa Gardens, Noordman had started sponsoring a few children\u2019s education. <\/p>\n

Over the next three years, he expanded his mission by founding the Back to School (BTS) nonprofit organization. BTS\u2019s mission is clear: to help children return to school and support those from low-income families. Today, BTS aids 164 children, many of whom had previously dropped out of school.<\/p>\n

BTS\u2019s support goes beyond paying school fees; the organization provides children with school supplies, uniforms, and daily meals, while their parents receive assistance through income-generating projects to help improve their financial stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen children have meals and supplies, they can focus on learning without anxiety. Many of our students excel academically, with several topping their primary school exams this year,\u201d explains Jean de Dieu Twizerimana, who co-founded BTS with Noordman. <\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s work involves regular academic monitoring. \u201cEach term, we check their grades, visit their schools weekly, and help resolve any issues with the parents,\u201d Twizerimana added.<\/p>\n

{{A hotel with a purpose}}<\/p>\n

Beyond serving as an eco-friendly hotel, Susa Gardens channels its revenue into supporting BTS. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe revenue from Susa Gardens helps us support the children, though it\u2019s not enough for everyone who needs help. There are children who pass exams but cannot afford to attend boarding schools, hence continuing studies under the Nine Years Basic Education program,\u201d noted Twizerimana. <\/p>\n

The founders aim to expand their efforts into other districts to reduce Rwanda\u2019s dropout rates.<\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of Education, Rwanda\u2019s primary school dropout rate was 9.5% in 2019\/20, decreasing to 7.1% in 2020\/21. Yet, the dropout rate remains a pressing issue.<\/p>\n

G\u00e9d\u00e9on Ntamugabumwe, a father of seven in Muhoza, is one of the parents BTS has supported. After his wife\u2019s passing in January 2023, he struggled to provide for his children alone. BTS\u2019s support, especially for his sixth-grade child, relieved some of his burdens. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen children are helped, their parents are helped too. Now, instead of paying Frw10,000 for school supplies, I can use that money to support other kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents like Ntamugabumwe are also organized into savings groups, where they are encouraged to save within their means and receive guidance on small businesses. \u201cIf I start selling eggs, it becomes easier to have money for monthly expenses. Even if it\u2019s small, it helps you buy seeds or farm supplies,\u201d Ntamugabumwe shared.<\/p>\n

Twizerimana emphasized that they continue to seek additional sponsors to expand their work so that more children can return to school and build brighter futures. <\/p>\n

\"Children's<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"BTS\u2019s<\/figure>\n
\"Parents<\/figure>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n
\"Susa<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"<\/figure>\n
\"G\u00e9d\u00e9on<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2014, Dutchman Hendrik Jan Noordman arrived in Rwanda to work for an international organization. Enchanted by Rwanda\u2019s beauty, his short-term stay transformed into a long-term commitment to the country. When retirement approached, Noordman made a life-altering decision to remain in Rwanda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000076997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-51894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000076997,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2024-11-12_at_7.52_41_pm_1_-44ec2.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000076997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51894"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=51894"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=51894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}